James Brown - Live in Georgia, 1985
James Brown, James Brown, James Brown." His name is repeated like a mantra at the Chastain Park
Amphitheatre, as if people were calling a Messiah who had swapped Christianity for funk. Although
this 1985 concert’s grainy images and editing are deliciously dated and incredibly vintage (it was the
pre-smartphone time when people got out lighters during ballads), the Godfather of Soul’s music
sounds downright timeless. Before his fellow citizens of Georgia, the man from Augusta doesn’t look his 52 years when he puts the pedal to the metal on "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "Get on the Good Foot." Afterwards, when he throws himself into a split for "Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag," he comes
back up as if it’s nothing.
As usual, James Brown sees his concert as choreography. While pushing the limits of his vocal cords, the American waves his arms to lead his band (where we find his regulars, Martha High, Maceo
Parker, and St. Clair Pinckney) and get them to dance. He covers the whole length and breadth of the stage. Dressed in electric blue for the first half of the show, he changes into bright red after a
surprising version of the local anthem, "Georgia on My Mind." And when he mimes his departure at the
end of "Please, Please, Please" like a boxer in his robe, he returns all of a sudden to shake the
audience’s hands like a campaigning politician. Singer, dancer, composer, band leader, politician,
boxer, godfather, and messiah: James Brown was all of these thing at the same time. And even more.
Solomon Burke - Avo Session
The roses, throne, and sequined costume that adorn the 158 kilos of the king and pioneer of soul
during the golden age of Atlantic Records perfectly complement his gripping charisma and his voice
filled with rhythm'n' blues and gospel; he was James Brown's rival back in the day.
All his life, from the church pews to the Apollo Theater in Harlem, Solomon Burke was this preacher,
entrepreneur, and performer who, when he died in 2010, left behind 21 children, about 40 albums, and
classics such as "Cry to Me" and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love." At the time of his last
performances, Solomon Burke offers his audience an electric, brass-filled celebration where the
standards of Ray Charles, Joe Tex, Little Richard and Nat King Cole are also invited. Hallelujah!
Buddy Guy - Baloise Session
Presented as the star he is, Buddy Guy was introduced to the Baloise Sessions stage at the age of eighty-two, a full sixty years after the recording of his first album (1958 - 2018). The acclaimed artist
introduced the session with "I Got the Blues." This sentiment couldn't be more true, as the blues has
accompanied him all his life, since he was 13 years old, when he played every night on a two-string
guitar on his porch before a neighbour finally offered him a new guitar. This act, without it being clear
at the time, sent him on the path to be one of the greatest blues figures. He would go on to emigrate
to Chicago where he found a little more freedom than in the segregationist south and took the most
important steps of his career: to be noticed by Muddy Waters, to play with BB King, Otis Rush, to open a club... Here he is again delivering a show in full control, like the legend he is, playing with his torso, guitar turned away, or with a drum stick and towel, surfing with style on the classic "(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man"...What is there to say, if not that we would have loved to have been there!
Kool And The Gang - Baloise Session
A monument of Great Black Music, Kool & the Gang bring back to life the jazz-funk verve of their glory
years, the soundtrack of an entire era, with the on-stage groove and flamboyance that made them
successful from the 1970s onwards.
Although the group has replaced some of its members over the years—including the charismatic
James Taylor and his animal voice—its pillars, such as Robert "Kool" Bell, Michael Ray, and Curtis
Williams, supported by a new guard and a very strong brass section, still prove that they have not sold nearly 80 million records by chance. "Get Down on it, "Ladies Night," "Celebration," and "Hollywood
Swinging": Kool & the Gang gives these timeless hits a second life with just the right amount of glitter
and nostalgia.
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